Atychiphobia
by Guardian of a Friend
Summary: She wasn't perfect, not even close. But the world didn't need perfect, it only needed possible. Three shot. Serena/Calem
1. Alone

****EEVEEpokemonDEDENNEdragonair24, you are a life saver :)****

**Atychiphobia **

She wasn't perfect, not even close. But the world didn't need perfect, it only needed possible.

Chapter I: Alone

Serena never asked for much. A place to sleep, things to eat, and somewhere she could watch her mom race without human contact. In reality, she had never asked for these things, but they were all given to her anyways. Assumed to be satisfactory.

They weren't what she wanted, but they were enough.

From the beginning, Serena didn't have very high expectations for herself. Her mom insisted she go on a Pokémon journey, although Serena had never battled before and could only grimace at the possibilities. She liked to think she'd give it one good shot-maybe make it to the first gym, then turn around and stay with her mom and her Rhyhorn.

She never asked to be forced out of the house, a life of solitude and dependency was enough. It's what she wanted.

But she couldn't ask.

So when her mother announced her plan-to quit racing and move to Vaniville Town, to finally settle down and let Serena live her life, she was less then pleased.

She didn't voice this.

She didn't voice her displeasure of the large fence surrounding the town, or comment about the headache the beating sunlight and thick pollen were giving. She didn't even tell her mom about the unnerving stares she received from the fellow towns people-like they expected great things from her.

Or like they were waiting for her to implode under the pressure and to wipe everything they cared about with her.

_Okay, maybe that last one is a little paranoid, _she thought, opening the door to her room with her hip and setting the last box down among the others marked 'Collectibles'. Pushing her single braid over her shoulder, Serena glanced at herself in the mirror and frowned, noticing the dark circles around her eyes and the hair sticking to her forehead from sweat. A sigh escaped her as she turned away, refusing to acknowledge her lackluster appearance and focusing instead on the series of thumps and crashes echoing from downstairs. Grudgingly opening the door, Serena peered down the stairs and winced as the fire alarm started chirping.

Taking the stairs two at a time, her frown deepened when she saw her mom precariously perched on the counter, frantically waving a cloth to disperse the smoke. Forcing a small smile onto her face, Serena grabbed a second rag from the open moving box and joined her mother on the counter.

Just as some of the smoke began to clear, the doorbell rang, surprising Serena and causing her to lose her balance and fall to the floor with a crash. And of course the stranger took this opportunity to open the door and let himself in, disregarding all respect for common decency.

His sheepish grin as he observed the calamity that was now their kitchen did little to quell Serena's annoyance, although she was mostly cursing her own luck as she herself observed the scene. A pot of rice that had somehow managed to catch fire, a middle aged woman flapping around on a counter with a rag in her hand like she was performing some ancient magic ritual, and a teenage girl, around the same age as him, sprawled on the ground over a broken moving box with metal kitchen utensils scattered about and digging into her side.

_Great first impression Serena. You deserve a pat on the back._

Overall, the boy appeared to be fairly nice, and legitimately guilty for his invasion of their home. After helping her up-and not mentioning her appearance or the state of the kitchen- he proceeded to handle the source of the smoke first before just shutting the main power supply to the fire alarm off. He even offered a hand to her mother to help her down although the woman vehemently refused, choosing instead to just tumble off and magically land right side up on her feet.

Serena really wanted to find a secluded corner and just roll over and die, but her plans of death via mortification were halted when he turned to her again and asked if she wanted to come meet some of his friends. As they always do in front of others, her words failed her and it was only her mom denying the request for her that saved her from further embarrassment.

His already microscopic smile dwindled before saying that it wasn't a big deal and handing a letter to her from someone called the professor. As the door closed behind him, Serena found herself wanting to call out, a request on the tip of her tongue. But she didn't.

After all, it wasn't her place to ask for something.

_Bonjour Serena!_

_I am ecstatic to make your acquaintance tomorrow and hope you will be satisfied with the options I will give you for your very own starter Pokémon..._

* * *

Pulling at her high-waisted skirt, Serena tenderly closed the front door behind her, careful not to alert her mother still rambling about how proud she was. Rhyhorn cracked a single eye open to look at her from its alcove on the yard. Huffing, it gingerly stood up and pushed her from behind, nearly knocking her over.

A breathy laugh escaping her, Serena reached behind her to pat the rock-ground Pokémon who had always brought her mom back to her. "Take care of her for me. I won't be gone long." The Pokémon gave her a long, unbelieving look as if to say _Sure you will. _A sad smile replaced her familiar one, "I'm no good by myself and a shadow should never leave its owner." Rhyhorn shoved her unexpectedly hard, sending her tumbling into the street.

Steadying herself, she looked over her shoulder to see Rhyhorn blocking the walkway. _This isn't where you belong._ An old Fletchling-her mother's first Pokémon- flew down and landed in front of Rhyhorn, spreading its wings. "You too, huh?" A broken cry escaped her lips, half laugh, half screech.

A calming hand placed itself on her shoulder, taking her by surprise. Her breath caught in her throat, she slowly turned around coming eye to eye with the boy from the day prior. His smile was small and perhaps a little guilty-she wondered if he would always look that way around her- but his eyes were understanding and he didn't say anything about what he had heard as he steered her towards the front gates with a tip of his hat to the two Pokémon squaring off with her in front of her own house.

He didn't shove, but his hand was firm leaving little indecision of where they were going. "Howdy doody new girl!" A high pitch voice sounded, bringing Serena out of her reverie before a figure ran into her from the left and knocked her to the ground.

"Shauna!"

"Oomph- my bad, new girl!" Shauna crawled off her back and rested on her haunches, her smile so bright it would be cringe worthy-if Serena's face hadn't just been shoved into the dirt. Rubbing her eyes to clear them, and to rid the tears, Serena opened them to find the same guiding hand from earlier directly in front of her face, the boy looking at the girl next to her extremely annoyed.

"You'll have to forgive Shauna, she's a bit of an airhead." Placing her hand gently into his outstretched one, he pulled her up, never taking his eyes from Shauna. Bouncing onto her toes, the girl leaned forward with her hands behind her back, her smile growing.

"Sorry about that," her eyes sparkled, "I get a little excited from time to time."

"A little?" She swiftly kicked him in the knee.

"Yes a little, Mr. Poopy-Pants. Anyways, our friends are waiting just beyond the gate with the Pokémon from Professor Sycamore. Come on!" Turning on her heels, Shauna raced towards the gate, her arms held out like airplane wings and a mock engine sound coming from her mouth. The throaty chuckle from behind her brought Serena's attention back to the boy behind her-still holding her hand. Shaking the midnight black locks from his eyes, he looked down at her and smiled.

"Let's do as the lady says, yes? Wouldn't want a repeat," he muttered the last sentence under his breath before stepping around her and following the same path Shauna had taken.

"W-wait." Her voice was soft and nearly inaudible even to herself, swept away by the wind. The boy kept walking. "What's your name?" She whispered, eyes downcast as she heard the large gate open for the second time to swallow the unknown boy.

"It's Calem." Her eyes widened, snapping to the silhouette of the boy who should've been too far to hear her, who was only partially facing her, who was surrounded by the morning Sun and looked like he was glowing. He smirked and replied, "Hey neighbor."

* * *

Her holo caster lit up with several messages, one in particular grabbing her attention.

_Calem: Please respond._

Powering off the device with a shaky hand, Serena glanced at the mysterious grunts one tunnel ahead of her, dressed in all black with a red F on the chest. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and quietly made her way to them, noting the various fossils they were carrying that couldn't have been theirs.

_I can't be a burden to him. If I'm worth anything I have to do this myself._

Getting their attention was easy, stumbling on a rock in Glittering Cave and sending it skidding down the tunnel was totally the best way to alert them, and was totally part of her plan. Totally. Cough. Internally grumbling at her luck, she quickly expelled Frogadier from his Pokeball and grimaced when both thieves released a Pokémon of their own of equal level.

Carefully reaching for the second ball in her bag, Serena wondered if she dared send out Fletchling-her only other Pokémon still conscious- before deciding against it, she was already poisoned and at critical health. Frogadier would have to handle the fight himself.

Her voice shook as she sent her Pokémon to a guaranteed KO.

"Frogadier, use-"

"Wait!" Calem's voice echoed across the cavern, his breath coming in short gasps as he raced to her side, throwing his own Quilladin's Pokeball into the fray without observing what he was getting into. "We'll talk later about your stunt with your communicator, for now let's kick some butt." His smile was tired, but he looked at her with all of the confidence in the world.

She nodded shyly.

With the combined power of both of them, the battle was over without too much damage to their own Pokemon and the grunts quickly dispersed, leaving the fossils where they had found them and shouting something about rotten kids. "Geez," Calem grumbled, ruffling his Pokémon's fur, "We're fifteen. Not really what I would consider little."

A light laugh escaped her, as Frogadier perched himself on her shoulder and she headed for the exit to the cave. She hadn't even taken two steps, "Hold it." Keeping her back to him, Serena returned her Pokémon to his Pokeball and stared at the path that would lead them both to the surface. "I get that you like to do things on your own, really I do." He placed his hand on her shoulder, gently nudging her to face him. She didn't budge.

"But it isn't okay to make us worry, or to turn off your communicator. I mean, for goodness sake, Shauna was seconds away from having a panic attack when she realized her messages weren't being received anymore. She thought something happened to you." His hand dropped. "And so did I." He whispered, voice shaking.

Inhaling, Serena turned to face him, bracing herself for whatever she would see. But she didn't see anything. He had lowered his head so his bangs covered his face, and Serena found that that was worse than any emotion she could've seen. _He's forcing me out._

"That's not okay. That's never okay!" His breath hitched. "We're your friends, we're supposed to help you. Please don't shut me out again." Striking blue eyes met hers, glistening with unshed tears. "Anything you need. You just have to ask."

"I.."

Serena had never asked for much.

"I don't want to be alone anymore."

**I have no idea why the HTML formatting showed up but even while uploading this copy (a different file from the original) Doc Manager still gave me trouble. **


	2. Too Slow

**Atychiphobia**

She wasn't perfect, not even close. But the world didn't need perfect, it only needed possible.

Chapter II: Too Slow

_"Perhaps we all fear failure, it just manifests itself differently."_

Her hands shook by her sides as she gazed upon the towering Gym, power fully restored. In her mind she had hoped Calem, or at the very least Shauna, would be there with her as she entered the building that housed one of her more prominent fears.

But that was before the argument. And now, Serena didn't think anyone would come even if she asked.

So with a quivering breath and a nervous grasping for her closest Pokémon's ball-one who couldn't aid her in a battle against _electricity_, she shuddered- Serena forced her head up and entered with only a slight hiccup to her steps. Calem had told her once when she was having an anxiety attack over an upcoming battle not to visually lose her nerve if at all possible.

And with that thought... quickly turned tail and returned to the Pokémon center. The badge could wait another day.

Of course, by the sixth day the looks Nurse Joy was giving her as she _once again _booked a room without any exclamation about a new badge were starting to make her feel slightly anxious.

And maybe a little guilty.

The sudden thunderstorm that struck that night didn't help any.

Serena jumped at the loud knocks against her door, her form huddled against the corner post and slight tremors reaching down to her fingertips. Slinking out of the bed, she yelped as another bought of lightning struck outside her window and flew towards the door, throwing it open.

The color drained from her face as she stared down her drenched rival, unsure of what to say.

_"How do you think it makes me feel huh? To always lose. To always be too slow or too weak. And you sit there and talk about how you aren't good enough? That's rich."_

Calem, illuminated by the lightning, was gasping for breath and, placing a hand on his knee to steady himself, looked up at her with eyes swallowed by sleepless nights. A crash of thunder, she flinched and his gaze widened, his arms flying around her, pulling her into a tight hug.

_"Why does it matter?" _She hadn't meant to sound condescending, really she hadn't.

"God, I'm so sorry Serena." His grip relaxed as she did. _"I'm used to living in people's shadows by now. First my parents now you. Losing to you isn't the problem." _

Her voice cracked, a hiccup escaping her. "I'm afraid of lightning." Burying her face deeper into his shoulder, she could feel his lips twitch from where they rested on top of her head.

"I would've never guessed." A relieved sigh escaped her as his breath tickled her scalp. Perhaps he hadn't forgiven her, but he wouldn't leave. _"I'm afraid I'm going to lose you one day, all because I couldn't protect you."_

"I'm scared so scared Calem. Of not living up to my mom. Of doing the wrong thing. I don't want you to hate me but..."

"We're all allowed to doubt ourselves Ser. I just overreacted, that's all."

Her nod was brief, just enough to be felt before she pulled away. Serena refused to look him in the eye as she glanced back towards her room, the dark space uninviting and sending chills down her spine.

Grabbing onto her hand, Calem lead her in and ushered her towards the floor where they sat and talked for the rest of the night. Through the lightning and her invisible tears. Like they had for weeks. Like those days without the other never existed. Like those words had never been said.

But she knew he hadn't just overreacted.

* * *

Shauna's bone crushing hug in the morning was enough to wind her, sending her stumbling backwards. A reassuring hand from Calem kept her upright and she mouthed 'thank you' over her shoulder.

The younger girl's enthusiasm magnified as they ventured to the gym, a skip in her step and a soft hum on her lips. So exuberate was she that she missed the slight hesitation from Serena walking off to her side. Shauna didn't however miss Calem holding her hand through the door and shot him a not-so-subtle wink after said blonde made her way to the second floor.

"Shall you go first or shall I? I wouldn't want the lovebirds to be too far apart." She laughed at the blush on his face before ducking to avoid the swat at her head. Hopping backwards, she stuck her tongue out at him and entered the elevator door. "Too slow!"

Shauna also didn't miss the expression of pain that flew across his face in the last moments before the doors closed and wondered what it was she had said.

* * *

Within a week they encountered Team Flare inside the Poke ball factory. Serena hadn't been expecting it and hadn't properly healed her Pokémon or rested herself after the rough encounter with Valerie of Laverre Gym or the trip to the city-verging on two days without sleep. It had seemed like such a simple thing to go talk with her friends before visiting the Poke Center but now she stood before two Admins, dead on her feet and only vaguely aware of the danger she had put herself in.

She felt an overwhelming relief when Calem rushed in, once again, to aid her before the battle began. The heated glare he threw her dampened her already meager spirits but she didn't complain when the first move he made after sending out Chesnaught was a full restore on Greninja.

Unlike with the grunts, the Admins were fairly evenly matched, and with her slow reaction time the fight seemed to lean in Flare's favor.

Greninja dodged.

"Chesnaught, Wood Hammer!" A direct hit. One Pokémon left in their arsenal.

Greninja dodged again, glancing furtively back to his unresponsive trainer who hadn't said a word for several attacks. He didn't notice the Liepard behind him.

"Chesnaught! Urk,... Greninja, Water Shuriken! Behind you!" The Pokémon didn't hesitate to respond to the familiar trainer-though not his own, turning in time to see the cat-like Pokémon crumble to the ground with her claws extended, a mere foot away.

The green-haired admin sneered before recalling her fallen partner and, shoving Serena, ran out of the room, the second one close behind. "You won't get away with this," she threw over her shoulder, not glancing back at the teenagers.

Sighing in relief, Calem stepped over to Serena, and shook her lightly so she'd look at him. Her eyes, glazed over and inattentive, slid shut and she crumpled. He caught her as she fell, dropping them both slowly to the ground. "Serena!"

The bed beneath her was stiff, the room cold. Slight pain radiated up her arm from an IV she was sure, and her eyelids were heavy. She didn't even bother trying to sit up.

She heard the whisk of an electronic sliding door being opened and felt rather than saw someone pull on the tube in her arm. "Rest, rest and support is all she needs. Exhaustion isn't hard to treat but just the same is easy to avoid with enough diligence." The voice was light and soothing, slightly on the high side but not annoying. Nurse Joy. "I talked to Professor Sycamore and he has cleared you to stay with her. Come get me or Clefairy if anything is amiss."

"Thank you," Calem. "Some other friends might stop by later when she wakes but we'll clear it with you so we don't overwhelm her."

"Good, good." Her soft, retreating footsteps were silenced with the closing of the door and Serena felt the depression of the bed off to her right. The muffled groan from Calem suggested he had put his head down on the bed and his next words were audible only after the bed shifted upwards again.

"You aren't doing anything to ease my worries Ser." His chuckle was breathy, but resigned and she wondered if his eyes weren't watering with how his breath caught. "You are going to be okay, you always have to be okay."

She wanted to answer, to open her eyes and see his expression but the already faint sounds and sensations grew dimmer as she slowly lost consciousness. With the last of her thoughts she remembered something he had said to her what seemed so long ago, amidst their sole _real _argument. And wondered why it hadn't bothered her before.

_"If I'm too slow, who's going to be there to protect you?"_

**I would say I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but you don't understand the sheer number of times I have rewritten this chapter. I have at least five separate files on my computer and most of those were revised once before giving up on that particular idea. Hopefully this won't be a problem for the next (and final!) chapter. Also, while the story-line is linear the story itself jumps to particular mindsets or issues as they appear, so don't expect really any overflow from this chapter to the next. **

**That's its own beast entirely. :)**


	3. Home

**Atychiphobia**

She wasn't perfect, not even close. But the world didn't need perfect, it only needed possible.

Chapter III: Home

"You're like a superhuman now." Shauna's voice was full of wonder as she and Serena take the long way back to Vaniville Town-skating through every forest and watching each trainer they've faced before wave at them while politely declining those who hadn't seen them before. The orange and red leaves crinkled beneath their skates, the autumn weather turning the once lush trees into bare spines, the cold wind nipping at the girls' faces. "I mean, everybody knows who you are now. Well, knows who _you _are."

Shaking her head, Serena pushed off with her left skate and glided on her right, her arms stretched out beside her like a Wingull. "This isn't much different than what was before. Now it's 'Oh, look it's the almighty, savior of the world what's her face' instead of 'Oh, look it's the daughter of that woman on TV what's her face'. Big improvement, Shauna. Huge." The younger girl rolled her eyes and shoved her. Serena screeched and hopped on her right foot, trying to regain her balance. Placing her left foot back on the ground, she shuffled forward before falling into the same pace as Shauna.

The brunette was snickering to herself when Serena finally looked over and she fought the urge to shove her back-Shauna probably wouldn't be able to catch herself and they wanted to make it home before sun down. At least, that was when they _told_ Calem they would be there and he was probably already out searching for them with over an hour left.

Almost as if reading her best-girl-friend's mind, Shauna nodded adding, "He's such a worry wart. Honestly." She raised her hands in a what-can-you-do gesture, narrowly missing a face full of tree when she closed her eyes and sighed to exaggerate the motion. "What do two girls have to do to earn a little freedom? Save the world? Check. Beat the Champion? Check. Be the amazingly supportive best friend to girl with said achievements? Check and check."

"I think that's his problem right there Shauna." Serena jabbed, "There's no calm to balance the crazy."

"More like no Calem to balance the crazy... Badum-tish!" She broke into a fit of giggles, "I don't know, I think I like crazy Ser more than cool and mysterious neighbor girl, even if it means Calem has to mother us." A thoughtful smile spread across Shauna's face as she glanced to the brightening sky above them. The wind howled around them, simultaneously chilling the girls and warming them with the rapidly dispersing clouds.

"Me too, Shauna. And I don't think she's going anywhere soon."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Serena's laughter at her friends' antics after finally reaching the gates-involving a flustered, overbearing Calem and a typical Shauna- died in her throat as she entered her house for the first time in months. Around the house, were towers of brown card board boxes. The miscellaneous items that had been only briefly unpacked when she left and present in the background of every holo cast message with her mom were strewn about the floor next to the flattened counterparts of the boxes around her. _Wait- _"Mom!" Serena about screeched.

"I'm here! Settle down, I'm he- oomph." Her mom slipped down the stairs, a box in her hands with her books from upstairs. "I'm okay." She chuckled, accepting Serena's hand. "I haven't talked to you in awhile although I've gotten to see you on the TV quite a bit!" Grace dusted herself off and placed the box in a corner of the kitchen with other crates that looked suspiciously like her bedding.

"There's so much I haven't told you, didn't want to worry you on your big adventure. But now that you're back-"

"We're moving again, aren't we?" Serena's face was blank, her blue eyes blinking apathetically at the familiar objects that loomed over her. She felt cold and her chest hurt, it was happening again. And she had let herself believe it wouldn't.

"Well yes, I thought a change in scenery would be nice and you see I meet someone-"

"Honey, who are you talking to?" Serena turned towards the deep voice echoing off the walls and cranes her neck to look up. A few months ago she would've described the man on the steps as a giant, but he was nearly a head shorter than AZ and his frame was lanky at best. "Oh, hello. You must be Serena." His smile was charming as he held out a hand for her to shake. Serena smiled tightly, placing her hand in his only briefly.

"This is Jacob, sweetie, my boyfriend. He works as a traveling assistant for pokemon professors across the globe but he's originally from Hoenn. Wouldn't it be just splendid to go there-"

Her mom was once again cut off when Serena closed the front door behind her, the soft click of the lock echoing throughout the still house. Grace huffed and shook her head, turning back to Jacob.

"Don't look at me like that." Rhyhorn only snorted, continuing to glare at the back of her head as she walked closer and closer to the gates. "I just need some time to think, I'm not running away from my problems." The Pokémon snorted again but sat on its haunches as the massive doors swung out, revealing the rest of the town.

"Calem isn't here this time to help you out-"

"Actually..."

"Really!" Serena spun on her heel, seething at the boy. Sheepishness filled his expression as he scratched the back of his head, his weight shifting between legs. She groaned and stalked through the gates with a noncommittal salute to Rhyhorn, aware that the Pokémon wouldn't stop her with Calem there. Calem gravely nodded his head towards Rhyhorn and quickly followed in pursuit of his blonde friend.

For the entire trip to Santalune Forest, Calem remained ten paces behind her, not uttering a word.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"I heard everything from my folks," Serena refused to look at him as she tried to find her way through the darkened forest, the path appearing vastly different from the one she and Shauna had taken only hours before.

She hugged herself when the wind picked up, snidely remarking to herself about her lack of foresight before storming out off the house. As quickly as she dared, Serena spun around and faced Calem, only to gasp when she realized the space behind her was deserted. She couldn't remember at what point his footsteps had faded away and quickly scanned the area to ensure that, indeed, Calem was gone.

"Yet somehow I knew you would react like this." Serena jumped at his familiar voice and, startled, look down. Too absorbed in her own thoughts she hadn't realized Calem's voice came from her blinking holo caster. Just how long had she been alone?

Her device crackled in her hands before blinding her with green light as the screen activated. But instead of Calem, a hologram of her mother appeared.

Her tone, slow and deliberate reminded Serena of when she was little, "I know you're scared honey but this'll be good for us. Jacob will be good for us. You'll see." Grace's face was tired, her eyes pleading.

"Just surprised was all." Her eyes drifted from her mother's face to the line of trees above her, brushing against the stars. Far above her the galaxy kept turning, unaware of her inner turmoil and unconcerned with her brief corner of the world. Serena didn't dare to hope that her two cents had much impact on the world. Surely her role was done. "I had thought you learnt your lesson about jumping into things sixteen years ago with Dad. I was simply mistaken."

Hurt flashed across Grace's face, unbeknownst to Serena and she clicked her tongue to regain the girls attention. "Jacob is different. It's going to be a great life."

"You hope."

"_You_ hope. Go for broke remember?" Grace sighed dejectedly, shaking her head as if dismissing the ramblings of a child."What happened to my perfect little girl, huh? The one who wasn't so cynical, wasn't so _cold. _I had hoped you grew up."

_"What a perfect child."_

_"She's just like you, Grace."_

_"A star in the making, hope she won't disappoint!"_

_"Such a fine, young lady." _

Serena wanted to cry. To scream at her mother that she had, in fact, grown up. That her journey wasn't for naught and all her fears and worries weren't meaningless and andand- And no words left her mouth. For as much as she wanted to stand up for herself, to rid herself of her anxieties, she simply couldn't. She couldn't do it.

She could save the world from an evil organization because that was simple. They were the bad guys and they had to be stopped. But her mom wasn't bad, her mom wasn't wrong, she just... never understood. And Serena didn't have the strength to stand against something so uncertain.

xxxxx

The next few days were a flurry of boxes, until slowly, the house that had seemed so inviting, so safe months ago now looked desolate.

Serena made sure to keep her head down as she scurried from the house to the van and back again, refusing to look any bystanders in the eye. Softly closing the door behind her, she nodded vaguely to Jacob who patted the box in his hands that had come from Grace's room. "This is the last of it girly. Go tell your mom to start up the truck and then we can head out of here." Stepping past her, he nudged the door open and slid outside, leaving Serena to stare at the blank house before her, another ghost in her past.

With a closed-off grimace she followed suit and headed to Calem's house where she knew her mother was saying her goodbye's. Much to her chagrin, the neighborhood in its entirety had gathered around Grace to listen to her overly rambunctious speech about life and diverging paths. Serena tuned out almost as soon as she was in earshot, only to be mildly startled by a tap on the shoulder.

Behind her stood Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, and Calem, the two former with tears in their eyes. Shauna glomped Serena, pulling with her a startled Trevor. After barreling into her however, Trevor's flying limbs tangled with Shauna's and sent the pair tumbling to the ground. Looking bewildered, Serena stood dumbfounded with her arms out in front of her from when she was reaching to hug her friends. Tierno guffawed, furiously wiping at the wet tracks on his face before hustling over and teasing his red headed friend. In comparison, Calem just gazed at her, expression unreadable. For a moment, Serena suddenly became very self-conscious and began tugging at the bottom of her shirt. Ignoring the scene their friends were making, he stepped closer to her and spoke softly to her.

"What do you want?"

Gauging her response, or lack thereof, Calem nodded solemnly and stepped past her to assist Shauna into a standing position. But as he passed he brushed shoulders with Serena and whispered barely above a breath, "It's O.K. I'm not my parents either and I don't want to be." She mentally added _And that's O.K. _to the end of his sentence, suddenly aware of how similar their situations were.

Suddenly aware of how different their decisions were too.

And that was all the push she needed.

When her mom finally left the mob of people and joined Jacob at the front of the truck, Serena couldn't help but hobble along slowly behind her. She was conflicted and confused. And for once, her accidently blurting something out proved useful. "I'm staying." Of course, she was too mortified to realize this. Slapping against her face, her hands pressed firmly against her mouth to prevent any further 'slippage'.

Her mother was flabbergasted.

Then she was angry.

"Now? You bring this up now?" Her mom slammed the door to the truck closed and marched over to Serena. "Is this because of Jacob," she seethed, voice dropping significantly in volume. "Because you've barely gotten to know him. You haven't even seen what our life will be like and your already saying-"

"No! I-I mean, no. I'm not doing this because of Jacob. Or you for that matter. I'm doing this for myself, I'm doing what I want for once and you're not going to stop me." Serena's fists were gathered at her sides, her fingernails digging painfully into her palms. Without realizing it she had stepped out into a wide second position and rolled her shoulders back. She was standing in a defensive position. "This is where I belong."

Serena had never asked for much.

But she didn't have to ask to find her home.

She only had to believe in it.

**Atychiphobia**

She was afraid of not being good enough, of not being perfect.  
She was afraid of failure.

**Endings are my weak points. I don't like them. **

**Also in the making of this chapter I realized that officially glomping isn't a word and that makes me sad.**

**I won't comment on the horrible tardiness of this. (But I lost the file because I was a doofus and wanted to write it on my phone and had to start over. Oh twells.)**


End file.
